Oscar Cisneros, a junior studying agricultural business, is running for president in the 2023 Associated Students general election.

Cisneros, who grew up in Watsonville California, chose Chico State for its College of Agriculture. 

“I had heard about the people and the resources and opportunities it offered, and I was also ready for a change of scenery and Northern California seemed like the place to go,” Cisneros said.

Cisneros has been involved in campus organizations including Men of Chico, a program at the Cross-Cultural Leadership Center which empowers men of color on campus, and The League, a mentorship program to local high school students. 

He is also employed at the Student Transition And Retention Center, or STAR Center, where he has worked to help students make connections on campus and form plans for what they will do after graduating.

He has experience organizing campus-wide events, including last year’s Dia de los Muertos event.

Cisneros plans to work on three main issues should he serve as president in the upcoming year: campus safety, transparency and greater representation.

“I plan to work to create more student events that are representative of the student body. We are a Hispanic serving institution so we should have events that are representative of those students, and ensure everyone on campus feels welcomed,” Cisneros said.

Cisneros has been involved in leadership since high school, where he was part of the associated student body. He believes in the importance of campus leadership being accessible and responsive to students.

“I think the AS President should be actively involved in the campus but also be accessible to students when they want to voice frustrations and concerns,” Cisneros said. “For that reason, I want to invite student orgs to give AS feedback on how we can help to ensure their survival as we struggle with a declining enrollment and retention rate.”

Through his experience at Chico State, Cisneros values what he has learned about pressing on through setbacks. 

“It takes a lot for us to stay on top of our classes, work, have a social life and have time for ourselves, so inevitably we may stretch ourselves thin and we may fail or not do the best we could. At the end of the day, if we are able to try again and make our best effort I think that says a lot about a person.”

Oscar Cisneros is promoting his campaign on Instagram, at @oscarforaspresident.

Oscar Cisneros will be running against Autumn Alaniz-Wiggins and JJ Arciga.

Voting will begin on April 4 at 8 a.m., and will end at 8 a.m. on April 5.

For more information on the AS general elections, go here. 

Kaitlin Moore can be reached at [email protected].